Hi birders,
See below a trip report from Western Australia's south west corner. For the
full report with photographs and a couple of maps see
http://tim-dolby.blogspot.com. Thanks to Greg Oakley, Tim Bawden and Frank
O'Connor and the birders who drew mud maps at Cheynes Beach. Also thanks to the
people at Dryandra Village. Great stuff.
Cheers,
Tim Dolby
___________
Western Australia's Wonderful South-West Corner (Autumn 2011)
The following report covers a birding trip to the fantastic south west corner
of Western Australia. Joining me on the trip was fellow birding cohort Greg
Oakley.
Our basic itinerary was to fly 4000 km from Melbourne (Victoria) to sunny Perth
in Western Australia. From Perth we'd travel 500 km south to coastal heathland
just east of Albany. On the way we'd stop at Dryandra Woodland. Dryandra is not
only an excellent mid-point between the southern coast and Perth but also a
significant birding site. We visited a number of sites in south west Western
Australia including Serpentine National Park, Dryandra Woodlands, Cheynes Beach
(the location of both Arpenteur Nature Reserve and Waychinicup National Park,
Mt Trio and Salt River Rd in Stirling National Park, 'The Gap' near Albany in
Torndirrup National Park near Albany, and on the way back to Perth we stopped
briefly at Northam, and in Perth Lake Monger and the impressive Herdsman Lake.
The Birds
The south west is an area effectively cut off from other rainfall areas in
Australia - eastern and northern Australian, being surround by a large areas of
semi-arid deserts such as the Great Sandy Desert in the north, Gibson in the
centre and Great Southern in the south. Such isolation has led to good numbers
of endemics on a species and subspecies level. A number of these are regarded
as relict species such as the skulkers, Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Bristlebird
and Western Whipbird (considered three of Australia's most difficult birds to
see). Others are similar but different to those on the east coast of Australia
- the similarities formed when there was a continuity of temperate habitat
across southern Australia. Aside from the three skulkers the endemics to the
south west corners include: Red-capped Parrot, Western Rosella, Baudin's and
Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo (also known as Long-billed and Short-billed
Black-Cockatoo), and Western (or Muir's) Corella (with two distinct
races, the uncommon southern race pastinator and common northern race
derbyi), Western Yellow Robin and White-breasted Robin, Red-winged Fairy-wren
(a large fairy-wren that prefers moist temperate forests) and Blue-breasted
Fairy-wren (prefers drier woodland), Western Wattlebird and the Western race
chloropsis of the White-naped Honeyeater (considered by many to be a distinct
species, to called either Western Honeyeater or Swan River Honeyeater), Rufous
Treecreeper, Western Thornbill and Red-eared Firetail.
There is a collection of other interesting species found in the area including
(in no particular order): Mute Swan (an introduced species found only in
Northam), Laughing Dove (another introduced special with its range limited to
WA), and local species such as Malleefowl, Rock and Elegant Parrot, Regent
Parrot, Red-tailed Black-Cockatoo, Western Gerygone, Tawny-crowed,
White-cheeked and Brown Honeyeater, Brush Bronzewing, Splendid Fairy-wren, Bush
Stone-curlew, Masked Owl, Flesh-footed and Great-winged Petrel, just to name a
few.
Due to the south-west isolation there's a high degree of local endemics on a
subspecies level including the nominate race anthropeplus of Regent Parrot,
yellow-bellied race semitorquantus of the Australian Ringneck, known locally as
"Twenty Eights" (a reference to the parrots call), the Western Shrike-tit,
'Spotted Scrubwren' race maculatus of the White-browed Scrubwren, and Western
Shrike-thrush' ( brownish backed race rufiventris), and 'Western Magpie' (race
dorsalis - with the female having a scalloped back), to name a few. Although I
didn't visit Gabo Island (18 km of the coast of Perth) on this trip, there are
interesting subspecies located there: Singing Honeyeater (a race that is 25%
heavier than mainland birds), Red-capped Robin and Western Gerygone, the last
two with vocalisations that differ significantly from mainland birds. Rottnest
Island also has wild populations of Common Pheasant and Indian Peafowl.
It is worth noting that Western Whipbird, Western Yellow Robin, Rufous
Treecreeper and Blue-breasted Fairy-wren are also found across the Nullarbor in
South Australia. Another thing worth noting is that most of Western Australia's
endemics are found in south-west, aside from Dusky Gerygone (found between
Carnarvon and Derby), the recently split Kimberly Honeyeater (formerly lumped
with White-lined Honeyeater) and Black Grasswren (Kimberly), while the rare and
endangered Western Ground Parrot (which seems likely to be raised to full
species status) is found near Esperance 500 km east of Albany.
Accommodation and car hire
For this trip (Perth to Dryandra to Albany and back again) there were two
excellent accommodation options. Firstly we stayed in the Dryandra village one
night on the way down, and then one night on the way back. The cost were $25
per person per night - and for this you get to stay in a fantastic bush cottage
with 2 bedrooms, lounge, outdoor eating areas, BBQ, fully equipped Fridge,
front balcony etc. On the first night it was a warm evening, so I chucked a
mattress on the front balcony and slept outside. Their contact details are
08_9884_5231, web http://www.dryandravillage.org.au.
Secondly we stayed was at the Cheynes Beach Caravan Park, with one of the
modern (but plain) 2 bedroom cabins costing about $120 a night (I specifically
recommend either cabin 13, or 11). The real benefit of the cabins was that they
immediately bordered (literally) one of Australia most significant birding
locations. To give you indication of the quality of birding near the cabins,
from the balcony I heard Noisy Scrub-bird singing about 50 m away, and saw
(from the balcony) Red-eared Firetail (with a pair regularly roosting on the
wires next to our cabin), White-breasted Robin (a family of 4 feed nest to the
cabin), Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo (large flock roosted in the trees in the
Caravan Park), and a Quokka and several Western Grey Kangaroo feed in the
grassy areas behind the cabin. Not bad! Their contact details are phone
08_9846_1247, http://www.cheynesbeachcaravanpark.com.au.
In terms of car hire for the trip we hired a new model Nissan X-Trail, the
perfect AWD option, not only because it easily handled any off-road conditions
we encountered, but it also had a very large rear cabin space, easily fitting
in all our gear.
Heathland area near Perth Airport
Upon arriving in Perth I spent 3 hours (while waiting for Greg O's flight to
arrive from Melbourne) wandering around a small heathland just outside the
eastern border of the airport (on the east side of a small channel between Boud
Ave and the Tonkin Hwy). Aside from a nice selection of honeyeaters such
Tawny-crowned, Singing, Brown, White-cheeked and New Holland Honeyeater I
flushed a Southern Brown Bandicoot, which ran across the walking track. A nice
start to the trip, and an interesting native mammal so close (5 km) to the
centre of a major city. ) [Interested to hear local WA comment about Southern
brown Bandicoot's population in Perth.]
Serpentine National Park
Stopped briefly at Serpentine Dam on the way down to Dryandra. 4,500 ha in
size, it's only 60 km from Perth Airport. Around the Serpentine Dam Picnic Area
and lookout the south side of the dam are an excellent place to see the WA's
temperate Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest endemics such as Red-winged
Fairy-wren (unfortunately eclipsed plumage males when I we there, and I was
also surprised how large this bird looks for a fairy-wren, alomost Grasswren
like), Red-capped Parrot, Western Spinebill, Western (White-naped) Honeyeater
and Baudin's Black-Cockatoo. Other birds seen here include Red-tailed
Black-Cockatoo, Twenty Eights, Splendid Fairy-wren, Golden Whistler and Scarlet
Robin.
DRYANDRA WOODLAND
After Serpentine NP we headed to Dryandra Woodlands, not just a tremendous
birding location - but it's also a good place to see mammals such as Numbat,
Woylie and Tammar Wallaby.
The flora of Dryandra consists of extensive stands of Wandoo (Eucalyptus
wandoo), Powderbark Wandoo (E. accedens) and Salmon White Gum (E. lane-poolei).
Stands of Jarrah (E. marginata) and Marri (Corymbia calophylla) provide
additional top cover, and the understorey contains Rock Sheoak (Allocasuarina
huegeliana) and extensive areas of Banksia ser Dryandra. Until early 2007 this
latter shrub was classified as a separate genus Dryandra after which the
Woodland is named. Species here include Golden Dryandra (Banksia nobilis) and
Prickly Dryandra (B. armata).
Dryandra (environmental) Village
Somewhat similar to Kingfisher Park in FNQ but with a WA dry woodland feel,
Dryandra Village is the perfect birders accommodation. Dawn dusk and the nights
provided an extremely pleasant birding experience. Dryandra is an excellent
stopping / mid point between Perth and the south-coast, we stayed there two
nights, once on the way down and once on the way back.
On the first night we arrived late in the evening - both nights were warm, so I
slept on the balcony. During the night I was serenaded by Bush Stone-curlew,
Southern Boobook and Owlet Nightjar. We also heard a Tyto-type Owl, possibly a
Masked Owl (rather than Barn Owl) because the call was more drawn out, stronger
and deeper. Supportive of this was that a Masked had recently photographed at
the Dryandra Village, and looking at the context of the Village (a small
cleared area in the middle of woodland), it sort of makes sense.
In the morning I was awoken to a dawn chorus which including a plethora of
honeyeaters such Western Spinebill, Red Wattlebird, New Holland, Singing,
White-cheeked, White-eared, Tawny-crowned, Western (White-naped),
Yellow-plumed, Brown and Brown-headed Honeyeater. Many of these drank at the
water bath near the office, the 'Western Magpie' (race dorsalis - with the
female having a scalloped back), Red-capped Parrot, 28s, Weebill and Silvereye
(race chloronotus [gouldi], sharply demarcated yellow throat and olive back).
Dryandra Village Dam
A kilometre west of the village on Kawana Rd you'll find a water supply dam for
the Dryandra Village. This was a fantastic dam for drinking birds, just after
dawn, particularly Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, Red-capped Parrot and Twenty
Eights. The first time I visited the dam no less that 15 Re-capped Parrot were
drinking at the dam - and in the north-west corner; dozens of honeyeater lined
up to drink - a situation that reminded me of the drinking of the mixed flocks
of drinking honeyeaters, finches and parrots at the waterholes in northern
Australia. Interestingly finches - other than the uncommon Red-eared Firetail -
are totally absent from this part of Australia. The dam is also an excellent
place to find the (secretive) Blue-breasted Fairy-wren. They were quite
secretive, we found then in the south-east corner, foraging under low scrub.
Unfortunately the males were in their eclipse phase.
Also here were Western Thornbill (a very plainly plumaged Thornbill, even
'duller' than the Mountain Thornbill of FNQ, it contrasts with Inland Thornbill
through lacking brownness on the rump), a juvenile Brown Goshawk, Brush
Bronzewing, Western Gerygone, 'Spotted Scrubwren' (race maculatus of
White-browed), 'Western Shrike-thrush' (brownish backed race rufiventris of
Grey Shrike-thrush).
Ochre Walk and Arboretum (Dryandra)
Rufous Treecreeper was conspicuous at the Dryandra Arboretum (a collection of
native trees) and the start of the Ochre Walk on Tomingley Rd - it ringing call
being almost continuous. Along the start of the walk we got onto Western Yellow
Robin - about 150 metres south of Tomingly Rd (you can see a small ridge line
on the south-west side of the track) - the race (griseogularis) of the robin in
the south-west has a bright rump. The Ochre Trail is also a reliable walk to
see Numbat.
Tomingley Rd (Dryandra)
While in Dryandra we travelled up and down Tomingley Rd a few times, mainly
because of the openness and good quality of the Wandoo eucalyptus woodland.
Along Tomingly Rd saw 'Western Shrike-tit' (white bellied race leucogaster
Crested Shrike-tit), Restless Flycatcher, Fantail Cuckoo, Rufous Treecreeper,
Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, Dusky Woodswallow (smaller darker race Perthi - with
less whiteness on outer-primaries and tail-tips - looking somewhat like Little
Woodswallow), Rainbow Bee-eater, Western, Inland and Yellow-rumped Thornbill,
Scarlet Robin (which seemed to be present at every location we visited), Grey
Butcherbird, Tree Martin, and there is a possibility of seeing the diurnal
Numbat, especially in along the open woodland gullies on the south side of the
road.
Surrounding Roads (Dryandra)
On the road in and out of Dryandra for Western Rosella, Red-capped Parrot and
Carnaby's Black-Cockatoo, we saw a large flock feeding on fresh pine cones
along the Wandering - Narrogin Rd. We also found a unusual mixed flock of
Black-faced Woodswallow and Varied Sitella (black-capped race pileata) along a
dry roadside - this seemed a very strange coupling, for example in eastern
Victoria Black-faced Woodswallow are an open country and Samphire species while
Varied Sitella are a woodland species, so the chance of seeing them together is
very slim. The southern area of Guru Rd, around the two fenced areas, is a good
site to see Woylie (Brush-tailed Bettong), we also had a few around our cottage
in the village), Numbat and Bilby (part of a release program).
WAYCHINICUP NATIONAL PARK AND CHEYNES BEACH
Cheynes Beach, located within Waychinicup National Park is quite simply a
brilliant birding location! Here I was targeting the critically endangered
Noisy Scrub-bird - one of Australia's rarest species and an iconic skulking
species thought extinct until its rediscovery in the early 1960s. I was also
after two other skulking species, Western Bristlebird and Western Whipbird.
The main sites for Noisy Scrub-bird are actually located in a small reserve
known Arpenteur Nature Reserve, a sub-reserve of the larger Waychinicup
National Park. The dominant flora in the reserve is the reserve is the
wonderful Baxter's Banksia (Banksia baxteri), Dryandra-leaved Banksia (B.
dryandroides), Candlestick Banksia (B. attenuata) or Scarlet Banksia (B.
coccinea), paperbarks (such as Melaleuca baxteri, M. striata and M. thymoides),
hakeas such as Hood Leaved Hakea (Hakea cucullata), or Two-leaf Hakea (H.
trifurcata). There are also thickets of thickets of Sword-sedges (Anarthria
spp.), and stunted eucalypts (especially Mallee eucalypts such as Ridge-fruited
Mallee (Eucalyptus angulosa), Bald Island Marlock E. conferruminata and
Jerdacuttup Mallee E. goniantha, and Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea spp.) is common.
Noisy Scrub-bird, Western Bristlebird and Western Whipbird
Looking to Noisy Scrub-bird was a significant milestone in my birding career
(along with Eyrean Grasswren, also rediscovered in 1961); it was one of a
number of species of bird that I'd talk about with my Father when we discussed
the rare and unusual birds of Australia. Indeed my Father had made his own trek
to this area (visiting Two Peoples Bay in the 1970s) to see Noisy Scrub-bird.
Unfortunately he didn't see the bird; however it didn't seem to matter to him.
I remember him saying "I could hear them very close to me in the scrub, but
despite crawling on hand and knees I could track him down". I managed to go one
crawling step further, and managed to get crippling views of the Noisy
Scrub-bird on several occasion.
The best spots for the Noisy Scrub-bird at Cheynes Beach are within cooee of
the caravan park. A small population of 14 were translocated here from Two
Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in 1983, followed by another 16 in 1985, and
recently over 200 hundred 223 male birds had been heard singing in the area.
There were two good sites for them along Cheyne Rd (see map below). The first
is on the south side of Cheyne Rd, 100 m west of the intersection of Cheyne Rd
and Bald Island Rd, in the areas between a culvert (an enclosed drain under the
road) and a dirt track that that leads down to the beach), with the bird first
heard calling in a large bush beside the road. The birds here are well known,
colloquially known as the "Culvert Scrub-bird". Upon hearing Noisy Scrub-bird
it's hard to believe that a bird so small can make such as a powerful call -
occasionally it was almost deafening.
The second site for Noisy Scrub-bird was on the north side of Cheyne Rd, about
300 m east of the intersection with Bald Island Rd. This is the areas between
the road and the Cheyne Beach Car Park. There an old toilet block here, where
it would be easy to listen to the Scrub-bird while ... well you know ... and as
a result colloquially the bird here is known as the "Toilet Scrub-bird". I just
made that up.
We saw Western Bristlebird at Cheynes Beach immediately east of the Bald Island
Rd, about 100 metres south-east of the turn-off to the Caravan Park (60 metres
after the road becomes a dirt track). From the Caravan Park entrance travel
south for 50 metres past the Caravan Park entrance and then take the easterly
track for about 20 metres (see map below). Western Bristlebird can be found in
the heath on the north-east side of this track. Another site for them is along
a small walking track immediately south of the Cheynes Beach Caravan Park; on
your right as you head to the first site.
Greg and I didn't see Western Whipbird at Cheynes Beach - although we didn't
actually look for them (we'd planned to target them at Betty's Beach - see site
details below). However if you do want to search for Western Whipbird here look
for them 200+ m past the Western Bristlebird site on the Bald Island Rd
(track), south-east of here, around the intersection near Back Beach, and 800 m
directly south of the Caravan Park, near an intersection that branches west
(where Noisy Scrub-bird and Western Bristlebird have also been recorded). See
map below.
Other birds at Cheynes Beach
White-breasted Robin are common in the Caravan Park near as the entrance area
and around the cabins, and also along the tracks leading to the beach from
Cheyne Rd. As a complete side note: I reckon the White-breasted Robin should be
renamed the "White Robin" (in the same way we have a Yellow, Scarlet, Pink,
Rose and Flame Robin). It's a far stronger, more straightforward, iconic name.
A good place to see Southern Emu-wren (race westernensis) is at the
intersection of Cheynes Rd and Bald Island Rd. Red-eared Firetail are found in
the area between Bald Island Rd and the cabins in the Caravan Park. Carnaby's
Black-Cockatoo feed and roost in the pines in the centre of the Caravan Park;
Purple-crowned Lorikeet seem to prefer the gum (especially when flowering) at
the east side of the Caravan Park Other bird we saw here included Brush
Bronzewing, Western Rosella, White-checked, New Holland and Tawny-crowned
Honeyeater, Fan-tailed Cuckoo, Splendid Fairy-wren, Tawny-crowned Honeyeat
er, White-browed (Spotted) Scrub-wren, Inland Thornbill, Dusky Woodswallow,
Black-shouldered Kite and Wedge-tailed Eagle. We also saw Regent Parrot on the
way into Cheynes Beach, surprisingly in the Blue Gum plantations about
The area is also an excellent place to see heathland mammals. I had spectacular
views of a Honey Possum feeding in a large Baxter Banksia (Banksia baxteri)
just east of the intersection of Cheyne Rd and Bald Island Rd, and a Quokka,
along with Western Grey Kangaroo, feed in the grassy areas behind the Cabin 11
in the Caravan Park. Other mammals in the reserve include Western Pygmy Possum,
Bush Rat, Southern Brown Bandicoot and the endangered Dibbler, a large
antechinus (in a surprising parallel context to Noisy Scrub-bird it was
rediscovered at Cheynes Beach in 1967 after a gap of 80 years).
North Point and Betty's Beach
Located on the edge of North Point (which faces Two Peoples Bay) Betty's Beach
is a really interesting birding site worth further investigating. It proved a
very good site for Western Whipbird (nigrogularis), hearing them as soon as we
got out of the car, as well as Rock Parrot. On a recent trip to Kangaroo Island
in South Australia I got onto Western Whipbird and Rock Parrot at Cape Du
Couedic on the Weir Cove Tk.
The similarity between that site and Betty's Beach was remarkable. Upon
arriving at both sites I heard Western Whipbird immediately as I got out the
car. In both sites the Whipbird were on the north side of the road up a short
track at the base of a hill, and the site over looked a rugged granite headland
massif, with a major headland on the west side of the coast. At both sites
birds include small flock of Rock Parrot, Tawny-crowed Honeyeater, New Holland
Honeyeater, Southern Emu-wren, White-browed (Spotted race maculatus)
Scrubwren, Southern Emu-wren, Tree Martin, Welcome Swallow and Little Raven.
The only difference was the species of Spinebill - Weir Cove they were Eastern
Spinebill, while at Betty's Beach Western Spinebill.
Looking across to South Point, Little Beach and Two People Bay from the
Limestone Rocks at North Point provides excellent sea views into Two Peoples
Bay. Here were saw Flesh-footed Shearwater, Great Cormorant and Caspian Tern,
while Black Oystercatcher feed on the rocks. At the small fishing locality of
Betty's Beach (where you seem to step back in time 50 years) a large Kings
Skink scurried across the road.
The Gap, Albany
>From the lighthouse at The Gap we had superb views of the seas. The seas were
>calm, so there weren't many species seabirds around, however we did manage to
>see Flesh-footed Shearwater, Great-winged Petrel, Sooty Oystercatcher, and a
>quick view of a pterodrama, possibly a Soft-plumaged Petrel. The Gap, in
>Torndirrup National Park, is on the southern side of Frenchmans Bay 20 km
>south west of Albany (pronounced, I've been informed Al-bany not All-bany).
>The area consists of wind-swept coastline and rugged headlands, with some
>protected bushlands. Looking from the cliffs, to an area behind the surf I
>also saw a very large shark (~15 foot), too hard to tell what it was, but
>large enough to suggest Great White.
Stirling Ranges
Brief visit, which didn't do the area justice. We visited Mt Trio in the
Stirling Ranges, an area of mixed mallee heath, and a good site for the mallee
race (oberon) of the Western Whipbird. Here we saw Purple-crowned,
Yellow-plumed, Tawny-crowned Honeyeater, Western Wattlebird, and what a brief
very short and distant of call of what I thought was a Gilbert's Whistler.
Golden Whistler was also heard here. A good place to see the distinctive
Rosenberg's Goanna is along the dirt section of the Salt River Rd, which runs
along the northern boundary of the park. Along here we had two Rosenberg's
sunning themselves along the road.
Rocky Gully
Rocky Gully is a small town on Muirs Hwy, and is one of the best locations to
see the uncommon southern race (pastinator) of the Western Corella. A
particularly good location is around a farm 200 m west of the town centres
along the Rocky Gully - Franklands Rd. You can view the farm from the Muirs Hwy
via a small powerline break in the roadside vegetation (opposite Mills Rd).
Here we saw a large flock of Western Corella in the area bordering farmland.
Beverley
>From here we headed back to Dryandra (where we stayed a second night) and then
>north to Northam through Western Australia's "wheatbelt" via the Great
>Southern Hwy. Along the way there were a couple of good birding locations. The
>northern race (derbyi) of the Western Corella, along with Little Corella,
>flocked to drink at a storage dam on the west side of the Great Southern Hwy
>in the centre of the township of Beverley - providing a nice opportunity to
>see both species (Little and Western Corella) side by side (literally).
York
In the Township of York, on the Avon River there was an impressive array of
waterbirds between the bridges on Balladong St and South St. Here we saw
Nankeen Night Heron, Darter, Little Pied, Little-black, Great Cormorant, Great
Egret, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Hoary-headed and Australasian Grebe, all
roosting along the river. The best access was via the west side of the South St
Bridge (through a small train museum).
Northam
One of the strangest birding twitches I've undertaken was heading to the
Northam Weir 100 km east of Perth to see Mute Swan. Perhaps romanticized the
moment - when I would see a legitimized population of Mute Swan in Australia.
However upon reaching the site it was like visiting the wetlands the city Zoo.
The birds where there, but it didn't feel like you'd seen them in the wild. For
example I remember seeing Flamingos in Hong Kong and there wasn't any emotional
attachment; it wasn't until I saw a true wild population in the Camargue in
France that it took a real emotive experience. (I could name dozens other
similar experiences.)
That being said the birds (Mute Swan) were there, and what a superb birds they
were! Being in Northam reminded me of the stories of the disbelief that 18th
century Europeans felt when they first heard about existence of 'Black Swans'.
Such an idea turned flat-world conservative thinker's views of reality on their
head. Soon we'd believe that mammals could have a bill like a duck!
Herdsman Lake and Lake Monger Reserve
Before heading home we dropped in a couple of the Perth's suburban lakes,
Herdsman Lake and Lake Monger Reserve, both located only a few kilometres from
the centre of Perth. Herdsman has extensive areas of reed beds in centre which
is shallow at low water levels, and narrow strip of paperbark around lake. We
birded on the north side getting onto a nice selection of birds including Great
Crested Grebe, Australasian Darter, Australasian Shoveler, Pink-eared,
Blue-billed and Musk Duck, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Spoonbill (interestingly
Royal Spoonbill is very rare in SW WA ), Australian Reed-Warbler, Little
Grassbird and Western Gerygone (another surprising city species - in Victoria
you'd have to travel well over 100 km out of Melbourne to have a chance of
seeing this species).
Lake Monger is also a large lake (~2km diameter) however it's surrounded by pen
parkland. Again there was a nice selection of waterbirds, including a range of
ducks that in the eastern states are uncommon (certainly in or near cities),
but where the common ducks on suburban lakes, such as Australasian Shoveler,
Pink-eared, Blue-billed and Musk Duck - I wonder if this has something to do
with WA's drought i.e. uncommon species pushed into urban landscapes (for
example in Melbourne during the drought period this was most obvious with our
Parrots and Cockatoo, such as Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo.)
By the end of our trip we'd seen all the local south west WA endemics - and
also picked up Mute Swan. The most noticeable about WA was how incredibly dry
it was. For example one of dominant aspect of Dryandra (and much of the
southern part of the state) was the number of trees that had either fallen
over, or were in in the process of falling over. After any strong wind, trees
would start tumbling down. The major cause is obviously: the prolonged Western
Australia drought (the land was as dry as a bone) has affected the root systems
of many of the trees (contracting to the point of non-existence). In many ways
it reminded me of eastern Australia prior to recent rains (and floods). The
most affected areas, in terms of fallen trees, I came across was in Dryandra
along the northern section of Guru Rd; it looked as though it had been hit by a
cyclone. Despite the dryness of south-west WA the birdlife and birding was
tremendous - being almost the perfect birding destination, with a
ll the common species a little bit different to what I'm used to in Victoria,
intermixed with a nice selection of rare and unusual species. There is also a
nice selection of mammals, such as the Honey Possum and Numbat, adding
wonderful wildlife experience.
Big thanks to Greg Oakley, Tim Bawden and Frank O'Connor (and his tremendous
website birdingwa.iinet.net.au) for their good dirt, and to the birders who'd
provided mud map details at Cheynes Beach. Thanks also to the people at
Dryandra Village, great stuff.
Cheers,
Tim Dolby
http://tim-dolby.blogspot.com
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